comics librarian, writer, balloon animal rights activist

Art Spiegelman is right and the Folio Society are cowards (and maybe Marvel, too)

Let’s be clear about something; when Art Spiegelman agrees to write for you, you do not censor him, especially when he is speaking truth. He is legendary comics creator Art Spiegelman, and you are not.

But that’s exactly what this Folio Society attempted to do. Spiegelman agreed to write a piece for their upcoming book about Marvel Comics in the Golden Age. In the piece, he explains that superheroes rose as a reaction to fascism, and now, when superheroes are more popular than ever, America is in the grip of fascism in the form of Trump.

The Folio Society told Spiegelman to remove the Trump reference claiming that Marvel wanted to stay “apolitical.” If this is true, it’s shitty, as any comics fan or scholar worth a spit knows that comics have always been political. If it’s not true, then Marvel needs to speak out in Spiegelman’s defense. Regardless, Spiegelman rightfully pulled his piece from the book and instead published it with The Guardian.

A ravenous reader with a burning love for pop culture and balloon animals, Jack writes about comics, libraries, and comics in libraries. He is the recipient of two master’s degrees, one in Library and Information Science from Kent State University and the other in English from Ohio Dominican University. He now works as a manager for a public library in Greater Cleveland, where he lives with his husband, two dogs, and pet rats.